A New Discovery

The year X777 was a peaceful year. More than half a year passed without any interesting new people joining or any noteworthy events.

All they do every day is make a ruckus, cause trouble everywhere, and contribute to the guild's dark history.

If there's anything Eleven has gained in the past six months, it's only the "Memory" magic he learned from Mest.

It has to be said that Eleven's magical talent might really be terrible; it took him a full six months to truly understand how Mest's Spiritual Power actually worked.

"Memory" magic is a higher-level magic that is many times more advanced than Telepathy. The caster needs to construct Memory- related magic circle in their mind to activate their Spiritual Power to cast the spell.

However, Eleven's pitiful magical control was not enough to construct a decent magic circle. He could only delve into how Mest's Spiritual Power worked and learn it from the root.

It's like how others can drive a carriage and move forward with a flick of the whip, but Eleven doesn't even know how to make wheels.

In short, Eleven put in unimaginable effort to learn this magic, and his mentor, Mest, also showed unimaginable patience.

Mest had never seen anyone so untalented yet so stubborn, and the worst part was that this person was better than her; if she didn't teach him, he would beat her up...

However, in the end Eleven never truly mastered the magic called "Memory." He merely learned how to invade and modify other people's Memories by observing the operation of Mest's Spiritual Power.

It's like this guy gave up on building a carriage and started riding a horse instead. But precisely because of this, he ran faster than everyone else.

Mest's Memory Magic is actually quite limited. Aside from directly deleting large chunks of Memory to cause amnesia, anything else, whether modifying or adding Memories Memory, creates a strong sense of incongruity.

Because all magic can do is implant a piece of information into someone's mind, without visuals, cause and effect, or details. With careful thought, it's easy to spot the flaws.

However, Eleven, because he directly uses Spiritual Power to cast magic, can do more than just implant a piece of information. He can even implant images he sees, sounds he hears, smells he gets into other people's Memories. Even scenes he imagines can be made to appear as his own Memories.

What's most interesting is that, perhaps because there's no magic involved, when Eleven slightly alters other people's Memories, their Spiritual Power automatically corrects the abnormal Memories —a phenomenon known as automatic mental replacement.

This great discovery, of course, came from Mest. One day, on a whim Eleven gave Mest a Memory of eating a fly. It was just a joke, with no details, but Mest actually vomited!

He even cried while recalling the taste and texture of flies... all of which were made up in his own mind.

Because Mest's reaction was so amusing, Eleven, though aware it was inappropriate, found himself unable to resist.

During that period, Mest was in a daze, feeling like she was doing strange things every day, and often wondering if she was going crazy.

It wasn't until Eleven confessed to him that he stopped doubting life, but he never appeared on screen with Eleven again. Eleven once thought he had driven Mest into a despondent state and felt guilty for a long time.

Today is July 7th, X777, another peaceful day. Mest has been avoiding Eleven for a whole month now, missing him.

The next day, July 8th, early in the morning, Eleven arrived at the guild as usual, and the guild was as lively as ever.

But unlike usual, Makarov wasn't sitting at his bar seat drinking; instead, he was dressed neatly, looking like he was about to go out.

"Sir, are you going out? Are you going to the Magic Council?"

Eleven didn't pay much attention and casually asked a question. Makarov was often called to the Magic Council scolded, and everyone was used to it.

"Oh, Eleven, you've come at the right time. Come with me; we might need your abilities." Makarov's eyes lit up when he saw Eleven, and he pulled Eleven, who had just entered the guild, back out.

"Huh? You need my abilities? Should I take you to the Magic Council?"

Eleven had no objection to helping Makarov, but he was a little nervous about going to the Magic Council, since he had heard that going there meant getting scolded.

Makarov gave the shifty-eyed Eleven a disapproving look, seeing right through his little scheme, and calmly said, "I'll take you to the Magic Council another time. This time we're going to find something."

"Oh, is that so? What are you looking for?" Upon hearing that he wouldn't have to go to the Magic Council to get scolded Eleven immediately perked up.

"I don't know," Makarov said calmly.

Eleven:...

Fortunately, Makarov didn't leave Eleven speechless for long, and continued to explain, "Last night I sensed a peculiar magical force descending upon the forest north of Magnolia, but I don't know what it is. We're just going to look for it."

"Oh, what kind of treasure could it be?" Eleven asked excitedly, leaning close to the old man's ear to inquire mysteriously.

"Hmm, it might be very valuable." At this moment, Makarov couldn't help but reveal a hint of longing.

The old man and the young man were walking down the street when, without realizing it, they both revealed a lewd smile.

According to Makarov's senses, the point of contact with that magic was in the forest not far from Magnolia, a distance of only half an hour for the two of them, without even needing a carriage.

Eleven in northern Magnolia many times, because it was really too ordinary, with nothing much to see, and the occasional monster was quite weak, so it didn't hold any appeal for Eleven.

If you can actually find treasure in a place like this, it would feel like you've struck gold.

"Hmm... As expected, that strange magic has disappeared."

Makarov stood there with his eyes closed, muttering to himself for a long time, but he couldn't sense anything. The magic he vaguely sensed last night had disappeared. Honestly, if only he hadn't drunk so much last night.

Seeing that Makarov had gained nothing, Eleven felt it was time for him to step in. So, he confidently took a step forward, closed his eyes, and unleashed his Spiritual Power, radiating outwards in all directions.

Makarov looked at Eleven with anticipation, hoping he could find something valuable, perhaps a great treasure that would cover his future drinking expenses and even help cover some of the guild's losses.